ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 259802
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| Date: | Wednesday 12 May 2021 |
| Time: | 10:23 |
| Type: |  Cirrus SR22 GTS G5 carbon |
| Owner/operator: | BBC Co LLC |
| Registration: | N416DJ |
| MSN: | 4394 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2016 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Denver-Centennial Airport (APA/KAPA), Englewood, CO -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Denver-Centennial Airport, CO (APA/KAPA) |
| Denver-Centennial Airport, CO (APA/KAPA) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On May 12, 2021, at 1023 mountain daylight time, a Cirrus SR22 airplane, N416DJ, and a Swearingen SA226TC airplane, N280KL, were substantially damaged when they collided in flight while approaching to land at Centennial Airport (APA), Englewood, Colorado. The pilot and passenger onboard the Cirrus were not injured, and the pilot onboard the Swearingen was not injured. The Cirrus was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight, and the Swearingen was operated as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight.
A Cirrus SR22 and a Swearingen AS226TC were approaching to land on parallel runways and being controlled by different controllers on different control tower frequencies. The pilot of the Swearingen was established on an extended final approach for the left runway, while the pilot of the Cirrus was flying a right traffic pattern for the right runway.
Data from an on-board recording device showed that the Cirrus’ airspeed on the base leg of the approach was more than 50 kts above the manufacturer’s recommended speed of 90 to 95 kts. As the Cirrus made the right turn from the base leg to the final approach, its flight path carried it through the extended centerline for the assigned runway (right), and into the extended centerline for the left runway where the collision occurred. At the time of the collision, the Cirrus had completed about ½ of the 90° turn from base to final and its trajectory would have taken it even further left of the final approach course for the left runway.
The pilot of the Swearingen landed uneventfully; the pilot of the Cirrus deployed the airframe parachute system, and the airplane came to rest upright about 3 nautical miles from the airport. Both airplanes sustained substantial damage to their fuselage.
During the approach sequence the controller working the Swearingen did not issue a traffic advisory to the pilot regarding the location of the Cirrus and the potential conflict. The issuance of traffic information during simultaneous parallel runway operations was required by Federal Aviation Administration Order JO 7110.65Y, which details air traffic control procedures and phraseology for use by persons providing air traffic control services. The controller working the Cirrus did issue a traffic advisory to the Cirrus pilot regarding the Swearingen on the parallel approach.
Based on the available information, the pilot of the Cirrus utilized a much higher than recommended approach speed which increased the airplane’s radius of turn. The pilot then misjudged the airplane’s flight path, which resulted in the airplane flying through the assigned final approach course and into the path of the parallel runway. The controller did not issue a traffic advisory to the pilot of Swearingen regarding the location of the Cirrus. The two airplanes were on different tower frequencies and had the controller issued an advisory, the pilot of the Swearingen may have been able to identify the conflict and maneuver his airplane to avoid the collision.
Probable Cause: The Cirrus pilot’s failure to maintain the final approach course for the assigned runway, which resulted in a collision with the Swearingen which was on final approach to the parallel runway. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the controller to issue a traffic advisory to the Swearingen pilot regarding the location of Cirrus, and the Cirrus pilot’s decision to fly higher than recommended approach speed which resulted in a larger turn radius and contributed to his overshoot of the final approach course.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/05/12/small-plane-crash-cherry-creek-reservoir/
https://patch.com/colorado/littleton/plane-crashes-south-cherry-creek-reservoir
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=416DJ
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N416DJ/history/20210512/1534Z/KAPA
https://flywithia.com/n416dj-details
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n416dj#27b03d34
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n280kl#27b06e7f
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/25689_1620849245.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: Arapahoe Sheriff's Office
Photo: NTSB
Figure: NTSB
Media:
🛩VIDEO AFTER COLLISION🛩
— Dillon Thomas (@DillonMThomas) May 12, 2021
Video by Hector Valezquez shows the moment a plane fell from the sky, just moments after colliding with another.
Nobody was hurt in the incident, miraculously. @CBSDenver https://t.co/NHsg2FUJpc pic.twitter.com/SWgD5jG80N
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-May-2021 17:03 | gerard57 | Added |
| 12-May-2021 17:07 | gerard57 | Updated [Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 12-May-2021 17:16 | harro | Updated [Registration, Cn, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 12-May-2021 17:32 | harro | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 12-May-2021 17:33 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 12-May-2021 18:02 | gerard57 | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 12-May-2021 18:02 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 12-May-2021 18:03 | harro | Updated [Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 12-May-2021 18:07 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Location] |
| 13-May-2021 05:48 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 05:52 | jocamero | Updated [Total occupants, Source, Damage] |
| 13-May-2021 06:00 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 07:00 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 07:04 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 13-May-2021 07:10 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Photo] |
| 13-May-2021 07:10 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Photo] |
| 13-May-2021 07:11 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source] |
| 13-May-2021 08:10 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-May-2021 17:25 | harro | Updated [Photo] |
| 13-May-2021 19:13 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 19:14 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 19:15 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 19:16 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2021 19:25 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 05-Aug-2021 19:30 | harro | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 05-Aug-2021 19:32 | harro | Updated [Photo] |
| 05-Aug-2021 19:46 | harro | Updated [Embed code, Photo] |
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